I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

Synopsis:

Deep underground, thirty-nine women live imprisoned in a cage.

Watched over by guards, these women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only vague recollections of their lives before.

As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl - the fortieth prisoner - sits alone and outcast in the corner. But soon she will show herself to be the key to the others' escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above.

Deep underground, thirty-nine women live imprisoned in a cage.

Watched over by guards, these women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only vague recollections of their lives before.

As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl - the fortieth prisoner - sits alone and outcast in the corner. But soon she will show herself to be the key to the others' escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above.

Review:

I picked this book up because the concept was so unique and Harpman definitely didn't disappoint. The plot was beautifully set up and paced perfectly. Written in the first person, I felt that it was so easy to get into the protagonist's mind as she explored the world and all of her actions felt perfectly in character. I gave the book 5 stars, due to the beautiful style of writing and I would 100% recommend this to anyone interested in dystopian literature and enjoys mystery.

*Spoilers Below*

Although we never find out how they got there or where they even are I didn't get that sour unresolved feeling that I would usually feel. It's actually very fitting that we never find out. And I think that it doesn't feel unresolved because the main character feels at peace with that ending. She never truly would be unsatisfied with not knowing because this alien world is all that she knows. Compared to the other characters, who all are grieving their past lives and the Earth that they know, 'the child' is task-oriented on discovering the world that is really all hers. She is the only person to whom all of this is normal.

Also, the other women never actually give her the chance to solve the mystery of where they are, in the end stunting her ability to discover the truth. All of them have a greater understanding of things as they once were and have their age and experience over her. However, throughout they refuse to teach her anything due to the false belief that it doesn't mean anything. If anything, Harpman shows that knowledge must be passed on, as only when they started to share things with the protagonist did their situation improve, both emotionally and physically.

Of course, their age is also what stops her from going ahead and find out more, as she must stay with each of them while they all die off. Only leaving her a few years in the end to truly try to find out what happened before her own old age prevents that. Unfortunately, her prime years were wasted away with the other women.

There are many questions that I obviously wish we could know the answer to. Such as, how are all the lights still working? How did all the guards die on the bus? Where did the road lead to? Why are there no seasons?

But in the end, I think I Who Have Never Known Men is an excellent book and the unsolved mystery does not ruin the ending whatsoever.

I picked this book up because the concept was so unique and Harpman definitely didn't disappoint. The plot was beautifully set up and paced perfectly. Written in the first person, I felt that it was so easy to get into the protagonist's mind as she explored the world and all of her actions felt perfectly in character. I gave the book 5 stars, due to the beautiful style of writing and I would 100% recommend this to anyone interested in dystopian literature and enjoys mystery.

*Spoilers Below*

Although we never find out how they got there or where they even are I didn't get that sour unresolved feeling that I would usually feel. It's actually very fitting that we never find out. And I think that it doesn't feel unresolved because the main character feels at peace with that ending. She never truly would be unsatisfied with not knowing because this alien world is all that she knows. Compared to the other characters, who all are grieving their past lives and the Earth that they know, 'the child' is task-oriented on discovering the world that is really all hers. She is the only person to whom all of this is normal.

Also, the other women never actually give her the chance to solve the mystery of where they are, in the end stunting her ability to discover the truth. All of them have a greater understanding of things as they once were and have their age and experience over her. However, throughout they refuse to teach her anything due to the false belief that it doesn't mean anything. If anything, Harpman shows that knowledge must be passed on, as only when they started to share things with the protagonist did their situation improve, both emotionally and physically.

Of course, their age is also what stops her from going ahead and find out more, as she must stay with each of them while they all die off. Only leaving her a few years in the end to truly try to find out what happened before her own old age prevents that. Unfortunately, her prime years were wasted away with the other women.

There are many questions that I obviously wish we could know the answer to. Such as, how are all the lights still working? How did all the guards die on the bus? Where did the road lead to? Why are there no seasons?

But in the end, I think I Who Have Never Known Men is an excellent book and the unsolved mystery does not ruin the ending whatsoever.

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman